Wednesday, August 19th 2009 1:12:30pm

(Welland, August 19th, 2009) Continuing its 25 year environmental mission to make homes across Ontario more energy efficient, GreenSaver has partnered with PenFinancial Credit Union to offer the new PenFinancial GreenSaver Home Improvement Loan, the first of its kind in the Niagara Region.

PenFinancial hosted a welcome reception for Climate Action Niagara and launched the new green loan on Wednesday, August 19th in Welland. Vladan Veljovic, President and CEO of GreenSaver and Jody Vizza, Marketing and Business Development Manager at PenFinancial were present. Senior executives from Climate Action Niagara (CAN), GreenSaver’s local partner providing ecoENERGY assessments in the Niagara Region were at the launch.

The PenFinancial GreenSaver Home Improvement Loan makes low interest loans available to any GreenSaver customers that conduct a GreenSaver energy assessment—from ecoENERGY to the GreenSaver Solar Audit. The current variable GreenSaver Loan rate is 4%. Upgrades amounting $10,000 would cost $209 in interest in 1 year*. Much of that interest cost will flow back to home owners through ecoENERGY’s rebates and the energy savings.

“We wanted to help make energy efficiency more affordable for our community,” says Jody Vizza, Marketing and Business Development Manager at PenFinancial, “With the current rebates available as well as the home renovation tax credit, now is the time to make upgrades and our new loan will make retrofits more affordable for Niagara residents.”

“PenFinancial shares our vision of helping make energy efficiency a reality for many,” says Vladan Veljovic, President and CEO of GreenSaver. “This new loan will enable more people to make home upgrades now and start saving energy sooner. It will create a demand for more green jobs and overall, encourage an even greener Niagara Region.”

Along with CAN’s efforts and track record of greening all aspects of its community, the PenFinancial GreenSaver Home Improvement Loan will further reinforce GreenSaver’s mission of “Saving the Planet, One Home at a Time”.

For more information about GreenSaver visit www.greensaver.org or call 416-203-3106.
To schedule an ecoENERGY assessment with CAN/GreenSaver in the Niagara Region, call 289-820-6440.

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To schedule interviews with a GreenSaver or PenFinancial spokesperson, or to obtain digital images, contact:
Allison Wallis, Marketing Manager, GreenSaver at
416-203-3106 x 234 or 416-803-1017(cell) or email allison.wallis@greensaver.org

Jody Vizza, Marketing and Business Development Manager, PenFinancial at
905-735-4801x 233 or 905-401-6509 (cell) or jody.vizza@penfinancial.com

GreenSaver is an independent non-profit corporation dedicated to environmental energy efficiency. They have pioneered Ontario residential energy conservation for 25 years with economically viable and environmentally friendly measures to help individuals and organizations with their energy need (www.greensaver.org).

PenFinancial Credit Union is a Niagara based financial institution that serves more than 10,000 personal and business members across the region through five branches and one Commercial Business Centre. PenFinancial offers a full range of financial services including access to the Exchange® Network with over 2,000 reduced transaction fee ABMs across Canada. Membership in PenFinancial Credit Union is open to everyone and all profits are returned to Members in the form of higher rates on savings, lower rates on loans, and to the community through sponsorships and donations that help to build a strong and vibrant Niagara.